"Whether it was for my personal profit or for myself, I have never asked the president for any favors", he told the court. The court is expected to rule on the case later this month.

Police investigators reportedly searched for documents relating to the allegations that Samsung Group paid a house interior firm from accounts created under borrowed names without issuing tax receipts from October 2008 to March 2015.

Prosecutors said Samsung's alleged involvement in the Park scandal was indicative of the collusive ties between South Korea's government and powerful, family-controlled conglomerates - or chaebol - of which Samsung is the largest. The prosecution applied charges of concealment of criminal proceeds on the Samsung heir for making false reports on Chung's horse ownership and of perjury for making false testimony at a special National Assembly hearing in December, last year, on the Choi scandal by denying knowledge of the affair.

The defense reiterated Lee's denial of wrongdoing, questioning whether the prosecution was relying on public sentiment to secure a prison term for Lee, 49, whose father, the group patriarch Lee Kun-hee, was hospitalized in 2014. Both Park and Choi have refused to testify at Lee's trial. Prosecutors believed that the bribery was offered in exchange for government help with a merger that strengthened Lee's control over Samsung at a crucial time for organizing a smooth leadership transition after his father fell ill.

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